Warangal: Taking advantage of the ongoing Ganesha Navaratri celebrations, few people are using the Ganesha idols as a symbol of protest to highlight their issues. While some people appreciate the novel style of protest, others criticise the use of religious symbols in demonstrations.
A young man, Kundoju Lavan Kumar of Dornakal in Mahbubabad district, staged a protest using a Ganesha idol made of placards, urging the elected representatives and authorities to address the long-standing issues in his Assembly constituency. He listed the demands on placards, including the establishment of new Intermediate and degree colleges, the construction of a 100-bed hospital, a dedicated vegetable market, maintenance of proper sanitation and the laying of new roads, and measures to curb the menace of stray dogs, monkeys and pigs.
Lavan Kuma staged a protest with placards at all critical junctions across Dornakal town, drawing the attention of the people. Various sections of the people have widely appreciated his creative form of protest.
However, in the Manthani Assembly segment, a protest with a Ganesha idol by the BRS leaders sparked anger and brought massive criticism among the people. Under the leadership of former MLA Putta Madhukar, a protest was held in the middle of the road in Manthani town, where a Ganesha idol was placed to demand adequate urea supply to farmers. Moreover, the BRS activists left the Lord Ganesha idol on the main roadside near the old petrol bunk after the completion of their protest, which brought much criticism among the people. Locals expressed anger at the incident, saying that the act was disrespectful and hurt religious feelings.
The two protests offered a compelling look at the use of religious imagery in public demonstrations. While Lavan Kumar’s creative protest in Dornakal has been applauded as an effective way to create awareness on social issues, the protest in Manthani has sparked a fierce debate, highlighting the precarious balance between leveraging a cultural symbol for a cause and the risk of being seen as desecrating it.
